---

**

Thick clouds dispersed.

In an instant, the moonlight engulfed the manor.

Maeng-so-un went berserk.

“Don’t talk nonsense! You bastard! Second child?! That Maeng Wei-ryong is dead! I killed him!”

His massive body moved with surprising agility, almost defying belief for someone so fat.

Bang!!!

His palm smashed against the building’s outer wall, causing a portion of it to collapse with a thunderous roar.

In that chaos, I drew my sword. The Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique I executed coursed to the tip of the blade, chasing after the spirit of the dead.

**Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique**

**Second Form.**

**Dan Hoon Choo.**

Blood splattered onto the blade. Maeng-so-un let out a pig-like squeal.

But once I struck, I realized something. The outer layer of Maeng-so-un. What looked like ordinary skin was thick and tough.

The bleeding was merely a scratch on the surface.

“You bastard!!!”

A terrifying aura surged. I barely managed to evade the incoming punch by unleashing Ghostly Spirit Step.

The attack itself wasn’t sharp. But what followed after the attack was bizarrely important.

The air carried a mixture of internal energy. The pitiful movement wasn’t purely harmless as it unleashed a backlash.

Just like a blade made of internal energy tearing at my clothes, blood splattered from the wound.

“I’ll crush you!!!”

Bang!!!

His descending arm was lodged deep into the wall. Amidst the shower of debris, I unsheathed the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Sword once more.

Dan Hoon Choo. The sweeping sword attack intended for cutting through.

Swish!!!

Once again, blood splattered. Yet still, it was shallow. No matter how much I fueled my internal energy, I could only slice through the outer skin.

Maeng-so-un laughed.

“Don’t try to act tough, you idiot!”

Bang!!!

In an instant, my chest caved in. A blow I failed to evade lodged deep into my torso.

Blood trickled down as I spat it out onto the wall.

Each blow.

That movement was fatal to me.

Cheongeop wailed. It mocked my weakness, swiftly restoring my body to its original state. The shape of my chest gradually returned. But the writhing pain remained, causing me to scream in agony.

The enemy’s physique was nearly invincible. For me now, it was impossible to slice through.

Like a rock.

It was akin to continuously pounding against it.

“The White Demon Body is a peerless martial art that can’t be compared to the Black Heaven Sect’s techniques! You idiot! Do you really think your sword can cut me?!”

A punch drenched in curses aimed for my face.

The movements were still pitiful. Aside from that forceful atmosphere, they seemed almost comical.

I could dodge. But just before evading, I locked eyes with someone.

In that instant, I realized.

This was something I shouldn’t shy away from.

—Crack.

A chilling sound erupted. My neck twisted as I fell face-first to the ground.

“The second son of the Father? The ghost? To utter such a name with your lousy skills…”

Maeng-so-un tore a pillar straight from the ground.

“The White Demon Body surpasses all of that! Your pathetic martial techniques are nothing compared to this!”

Crack!

The pillar sank into my flesh. I vomited blood.

The broken area healed immediately. But at the moment my body regenerated, the pillar shattered another part.

Crack!

Blood erupted. Broken bones pierced through my skin.

I wanted to scream. But I bit my tongue with all my might.

Hold on.

I must endure.

There was a reason for deliberately taking an avoidable attack.

Blood dripped from my bitten tongue. Amidst the horrific pain, I turned my head.

I saw them.

People were gathering. Shadows of warriors.

Only Maeng-so-un, oblivious, remained focused on his assault.

Crack!

A portion of the pillar broke off. Maeng-so-un huffed as he impaled the shattered piece into my body.

My insides shook as they were pierced all at once. I flailed, scratching the ground.

“Huh… Huh… You idiot… You think you can…?”

My nails cracked. My head throbbed, making it difficult to think straight.

Only the sound of Maeng-so-un’s derisive laughter scratched at my ears.

“Father is dead. The ghost will soon follow. You’ll end up accomplishing nothing. Wang So-hong? Figures you’d have a hideous name. Even Maeng-cheon’s name is meaningless.”

I tried to grasp my sword. But my hand was stomped down.

The sensation of breaking spread through my bones, radiating throughout my spine.

“Looks like your father’s last arrangement is also for naught. Why? Did father tell you to die if he died? Well… he likely suspected who killed the second son!”

“…….”

“But in the end, I’ll be the one standing. This is Maeng-so-un. I’m not satisfied with the Black Heaven Sect. I’ll rise to greater heights. I was born strong. I even killed my own second brother to obtain it all. Power. Yes. I am the master of power. Joining the Demon Cult will grant me more than I desire. By then, everyone will know my name.”

Maeng-so-un cackled.

“The world revolves around me! I am the master of the universe! Everything is fate!”

I trembled and opened my mouth.

“S-so…”

I spat out broken shards of teeth.

“Did you… kill the Master too…?”

“Of course! That was the promise made with Teacher Bai! If I couldn’t become the leader of the Black Heaven Sect, I had to kill my father! But you know what? That damn bastard isn’t fully dead. He’s still with me…”

Maeng-so-un patted his belly.

“The essence remains; it’s still inside me. I don’t have to hear him nagging, nor do I have to hear him insisting on training martial arts! Is there a better form than this? He may be dead, but the absorbed essence makes me stronger. This is a normal generation change. I will devour my father’s power and rise even higher!”

Z2dKbDJFSCtSbEo3WFlpUEN0eDQxUnRQbXRoanNHZ3Q0cGtaYWVZZ0pWOUtSTWpqajVBQ3o1YXRLOXBJNlhQNw

Maeng-so-un gripped the broken pillar. He aimed it at my head, as if to deliver the final blow.

“So die. Ghost. You damned bastard. You’ve ruined my mood. I’ll toss your corpse away to completely sever my ties with father.”

“…Ugh…”

I shuddered.

“Ugh… Hehe…”

Maeng-so-un’s eyebrows twitched.

“Have you lost your mind before death?”

“Of course… you talking so much… is merely… appreciated…”

“What?”

Restless and excited, Maeng-so-un quickly scanned the area. Seeing the countless shadows gathering caused him to blink.

“W-when did…? ”

The warriors of the Black Heaven Sect.

Those wielding axes trembled. Some stuttered, unable to believe it.

A wave of unrest spread rapidly. Inside it, doubt lingered.

I murmured. My severed tongue reattached.

“Didn’t you call for them yourself, Maeng-so-un? They came because you called. Now everyone has heard.”

Pain surged from within. It was on an entirely different level than when I fought Lee Ho.

But amidst this writhing pain, I rose. I picked up the sword I had dropped, wedging it into the ground to support myself.

The warriors buzzed.

“D-Young Master… what was that just now…?”

“D-Did you really… kill the Master…?”

“N-no way! This damned bastard used sorcery! I didn’t kill my father! It was purely an accident…”

“Wang So-hong?”

I locked eyes through the torn mask.

The gatekeeper I faced every day. A nameless warrior.

“Are you… Wang So-hong…? What are you doing here…?”

Still the same false name. But it proved valuable.

Before the night ended, under the name I had sworn that was true, I straightened myself.

“I came to learn the truth. I owe a lot to the Master. And I accidentally overheard a conversation.”

“Could it be that you truly…?”

“Maeng-so-un. The Master’s firstborn son deliberately killed him, collaborating with the mystical healer.”

“My heavens… to betray the natural order…”

“I knew this would happen!”

“Shamelessness incarnate?! Maeng-so-un!”

As accusations poured in, Maeng-so-un gritted his teeth.

“Shut it! You just need to follow! Then I’ll give you anything! Money or martial powers, whatever you desire! It’s just one master changing; why are you making such a fuss?!”

“Y-you’re really insane…!”

“Bullshit! The strong devour the weak! It’s merely the destruction of something that was already crumbling! This is the law of the Demon Cult! You should always follow the strongest! And that’s me! Maeng-so-un!”

His unleashed inner energy reverberated around. The warriors of the Black Heaven Sect faltered.

“What is this overwhelming…?!”

“Maeng-so-un! You were hiding your martial techniques!”

“My talent merely bloomed late! It’s an incomparably stronger force than the Black Heaven Sect’s axe! This is the White Demon Body! The peerless martial art that elevates me above all!”

“…Peerless martial art?”

I asked.

Maeng-so-un faced me.

“Yes. A peerless martial art. Just a corpse. It’s martial arts that can’t even be compared to the Black Heaven Sect’s axes!”

“You’re wrong. You pig.”

“What did you say?”

I twisted the sword jammed into the ground. Angling it toward Maeng-so-un.

I smiled.

“How could that even begin to follow in his footsteps?”

“…You little bastard… Do you dare to mock me…?”

“Yes. I mocked you. I can’t help but laugh. To evaluate the Black Heaven Sect’s martial arts with that pathetic thing—it’s utterly laughable.”

I drew forth my internal energy.

Crimson shadows cascaded down my body.

Cheongeop wailed. I realized what I needed to do amidst it all.

“Hold it up like this.”

I gripped the sword. The hilt adhered to my palm.

The grip technique. I imitated it correctly. Grasping the sword appropriately, I focused my mind on the tip.

“This is how you strike down.”

I lightly swung through the air as per the whisper of Twenty-Nine. I felt the flow contained within my blade.

Whispers of the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique. The ferocious roar resonating within.

But it was insufficient.

It wasn’t enough to cut him down.

I silenced Cheongeop’s voice. I even forgot the pain for a fleeting moment.

I focused. On the tips of my fingers. On the tips of my toes.

I concentrated solely on one aspect, completely drowning out the warriors’ voices.

“Your sword is heavy. Truly heavy.”

In front of me stands a rock. That which I could neither cut nor penetrate.

No matter how I swung, I could only leave a scratch. Up until I left the Demon Valley, all I had to show were merely shallow marks.

The outer skin is thick.

Those bones must be thicker than flesh.

But I’ve seen an axe that could smash rock.

Maeng-so-un laughed.

“You idiot. Do you think you can cut me? You must be a goldfish. You can’t slice me. A mere scratch means nothing. My body is like a rock! The power of the White Demon Body emanates from an indestructible physique! You can’t penetrate me!”

“…Indestructible?”

I scoffed. Clenching the sword tighter.

I regulated my breathing. Slowly, letting it out piece by piece.

I accumulated it all.

My internal energy.

My strength.

My tenacity.

—The story.

“At this moment, perhaps. But what if countless stories intertwine within it? The sword is life itself. The time spent seeps into it. So your sword…”

The master of the Black Heaven Sect, Maeng-cheon.

His firstborn son, Maeng-so-un.

And me.

**—Sworn to live until this night ends as Wang So-hong, his second son.**

I don’t know what the White Demon Body is. I only know that the flesh before my eyes is far sturdier than an average person’s.

But what changes even if I know that? It’s simple.

So absurdly simple, it brings laughter.

“Maeng-so-un. Your father was someone who could smash rocks with an axe.”

“He was going to die anyway. And I completely absorbed that power.”

“If internal energy could conquer all, then why does martial prowess exist? You know nothing. You don’t even know what was contained in your father’s hands or how he nurtured you.”

“Enough! I will crush you!”

“An indestructible physique? The peerless martial art, White Demon Body?”

In an instant, clouds obscured the moonlight.

I murmured in the shadow.

“You are nothing. Even in death, you won’t leave behind a proper name. You’ll wander the streets as a corpse—one who killed the father who raised you.”

“Kill me! With this indestructible body!”

“What stands before me is a pig.”

The sword sang from my fingertips.

With mere perseverance, I poured in my destiny.

The leader of the Black Heaven Sect, Maeng-cheon.

The time spent with him. His teachings.

I even gathered the feelings I had received, pouring them into the tip of my sword.

The second form of the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.

“I might still not be able to cut a rock.”

**Dan Hoon Choo.**

**Following the severed spirit.**

“But I can slice through a pig.”

The extended sword attack cleaved through the darkness. Maeng-so-un charged at me, screeching.

A crimson flash erupted from my fingertips. It was blocked, but I didn’t step back; I pressed on with power.

I twisted the muscles in my legs. I squeezed every morsel of internal energy.

I moved forward, swinging the sword that was lodged in the bones. I shouted louder, my voice filled with fervor.

“The weight shall surpass that of a thousand- Jin rock!”

It erupted from my grasp.

After ten years of peeling away the frail shell of my existence.

I passed through the tale of Wang So-hong.

And my story.

“What…?!”

The swarm of techniques I had honed blended seamlessly into the innards of the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Sword. The blood-red shadows intertwined, the sword that had swung sincerely erupted anew.

To the extreme.

Beyond the line of life and death, I reached the end of time I had sent forth.

So straightforward that no one would spare a glance…

**—The struggling of an ordinary person.**

“…This cannot be…?!”

Maeng-so-un’s expression warped. I placed a final declaration onto the sword’s tip.

“The strong devour the weak.”

The crimson sword light blazed. I quietly gripped it.

I broke through the blockage and pressed forward.

Maeng-so-un’s scream met the edge of my sword. I realized at the brink.

Late.

So very late.

“Effort will never betray you.”

**—That the sword wielded before and the newly learned sword had fused into one.**

“……”

—Squish.

The new form intersected. At the same moment, my feet slipped. I barely managed to force my body upright. I exhaled the breath that had built up to my chin.

I shook off the bloodstained sword. I sheathed it, tucking it away.

My legs trembled, yet I held my ground.

I didn’t want to welcome this moment while sitting.

“Just as you said, it’s over, Maeng-so-un.”

“How…could it be…?”

Maeng-so-un faced me. Blood oozed from the cracks running from his head down to his groin.

“In that brief instant…crossed over… the wall?!”

“Brief instant?”

I turned my head.

**”That fleeting moment you just witnessed was ten years to me. You pig.”**

—Splitting!

Maeng-so-un, now halved, finally crumbled.

 

---